Director and Hollywood legend George Lucas is throwing his support behind him Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger in the bitter proxy battle between the company and activist investor Nelson Peltz.
Lucas, who received 37.1 million shares of Disney stock as part of Disney's $4.05 billion purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012, is currently the largest individual investor in the company, multiple sources confirmed to CNBC.
In a statement to CNBC, Lucas wrote:
“Creating magic is not for amateurs. When I sold Lucasfilm a little over a decade ago, I was thrilled to become a shareholder in Disney because of my long-time admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger's leadership. When Bob recently returned to the company during… I had a hard time, it felt good. No one knows Disney better than me. I will remain a valued shareholder because I have full confidence in the strength of Disney and Bob's track record of delivering value over the long term. “I have voted all of my shares in favor of the 12 Disney directors and we urge other shareholders to do the same.”
Disney has amassed a number of high-profile endorsements in its fight against Peltz and his company, Trian Fund Management, from the heirs of Walt and Roy Disney to… C. B. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
But Lucas's endorsement is key, not only because of his role as Disney's largest individual shareholder, but also because of his standing in Hollywood. Lucas wrote and created the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises, some of the most iconic films in history, and helped invent tools such as digital film editing and computer-generated imagery.
Peltz asked investors to nominate him and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to the board at its annual general meeting on April 3. Among other things, Peltz wants to reform traditional Disney TV, which he believes has been a shrinking business.
Meanwhile, Iger is trying to streamline the sprawling media company to rein in spending and make its Disney+ streaming platform profitable. Eger has instituted extensive restructuring, including laying off thousands of workers.
